02/03/2018

Executive Summary

Motion M-103 evolved from e-petition 411, a House of Commons petition that basically called for the condemnation of "all forms of Islamophobia". The initiative was originally seen as well-intentioned and received unanimous approval by the House on 26 October, 2016.

M-103 Report Rebuttal 01 Mar 2018

M-103 took petition e-411 as a founding document and went on to call for combatting a climate of fear and hate with "a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia". All very well and fine until the Canadian public began asking the questions; is Canada in the midst of a rising tide of fear and hate, are our governance systems riddled with "systemic racism", do Canadians have hate in their hearts for alien religions and just what does Islamophobia mean?

Motion M-103 was passed by parliament in March, 2017 and went through a study period of "240 days" before the sponsoring Heritage Committee submitted its "Draft Report" on 01 February, 2018. By its own account, as portrayed by authoritative data collected and submitted by Statistics Canada, the Report found that there was no rising tide of fear and hate and that "systemic racism" and "religious discrimination" were not as widespread as implied by the Motion. Additionally, and as detailed by the Conservative Party "dissenting report", the term "Islamophobia" was left undefined and a source of great public consternation. Regardless, the Report went on to deal with these issues as if they posed serious problems.

I urge you to read this report. We must continue to oppose Motion M-103 so that it NEVER becomes law.